mendelson



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

D. MENDELSON.

WINDOW WASHER.

No. 486,726. Patented Nov. 22, 1892.

WITNESSES A TTORNE YS.

w: Norms PETERS co. Puma-mum WASNINGTON, n. c.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

D. MENDELSON,

WINDOW WASHER.

Patented Nov. 22, 1892.

I INVENTOH Lon/n V6 A TTOHNEYS.

(No Model.) 7 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. D. MENDELSON. WINDOW WASHER.

No. 486,726. Patented Nov. 22, 1892.

IN VE NTOH WWW" ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES.-

UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

DAVID MENDELSON, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

wm DOW-WASH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,726, dated November 22, 1892.

Application filed May 31, 1392. Serial No. 434,968. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID MENDELsoN, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Window-Washer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in Window-washers. It is well known that it is a difficult matter to conveniently and properly wash the outside of a window, and consequently the windows are imperfectly cleaned, and in attempting to wash the outside of high windows many people are seriously injured, as they frequently fall.

The object of my invention is to produce a cheap and simple apparatus by means of which a person may stand within a room and easily, quickly, and thoroughly wash the outside of a window, and also to construct the device so that it may be used for washing the inside of a window or used to advantage in Washinga ceiling or any desired part ofa wall.

To this end my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter, and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the windowwasher embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, but with the jawslide in section. Fig. 3 is an end view of the window-washer, looking upon the jaws. Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line 4 4 in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing one method of applying the window-washer to the outside of a window. Fig. 5 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 5, but with the washer,

turned the other side up. Fig. 6 showsa convenient way of accomplishing the same results. Fig. 7 shows the window-washer adapted for use in washing a ceiling. Fig. 8 is a broken longitudinal section of a modified form of a window-washer having an extensible handle. Fig. 9 is a broken side elevation of the same, showing, also, an operating-rope attached thereto. Fig. 10 is an inside elevation of a window and a modified form of the Washer applied thereto, and Fig. 11 is a vertical section on the line 11 11in Fig. 10, showing the window-washer in side elevation.

The device has a jointed handle 10, which may be of any desired length, and is adapted to be brought into many different positions, the handle being preferably made up of two sections 11 and 12, which are pivoted together, as shown at 13, the joint being made by means of a bolt 14, which extends through the overlapping portions of the two sections, and it has at one end a thumb-nut 15, and by tightening the nut the parts maybe jammed together, so that the two parts or sections 11 or 12 may be held at any desired angle in relation to each other. To the end of the outer section 12 is secured a shank l6, and extending from the outerend of this shank are the two members 17 of a wire, which are doubled at right angles, as shown at 18, and formed into a jaw 19, which may be of any approved form. A slide 20 is held to move on the shank 16, the slide having a base-flange 21, which enables it to be easily grasped and pushed back against the tension of a spring 22, which is coiled around the shank and held between the slide and the end of the section 12. shank 16 are of rectangular cross-section, so that the slide will not turn on the shank. Extending outward from the outer end of the shank are the members 23 of a wire, these members being doubled at right angles,'as shown at- 24, and formed into a jaw 25, which is similar to the jaw 19, and the pressure of the spring 22 normally holds the slide 20 outward and the jaw 25 against the jaw 19.

When the device is to be used, a sponge 26 or a mop or similar article is held between the jaws and allowed to protrude from the Both the slide andouteredges of thejaws and toinsert the sponge or other article, the slide 20 is pushed back against the spring 22, the sponge inserted between the jaws and the slide released, so as to allow the jaw 25 tospring back against the sponge, and the latter is thus firmly bound in place.

For use on a window or wall under ordinary circumstances where the side next the operator is to be washed the handle 10 is left perfectly straight, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The sponge or other suitable swab is held between the jaws and is wet in the usual way and rubbed up and down over the surface to be washed. As the jaws extend at right angles to the handle, it will be seen that this may be very easily done.

\Vhen the outside of a window is to be washed bya person standing on the inside of it, the section 12 may be turned at right angles to the section 11 and clasped by the thumb-nut 15 in the manner described, the windows 27 may be raised, the section 12 thrust-out below the windows,so that the section 11 will extend at right angles to the windows and the section 12 parallel with the windows, as shown in Fig. 5, and the sponge or swab 26 may be rubbed up and down against the glass. This is a convenient way of washing the lower and outer portion of a window. In some windows, however, the device may be arranged as described and thrust out above the windows with the section 12 turned down, as in Fig. 5.

For washing the upper portion of the outside of a window the device is arranged as shown in Fig. 6, where an arm 28 is used, which is adjustable on the handle 10, and is clamped thereto by a set-screw 29, the arm extending at right angles to the handle and having at its inner end a short handle 30, which extends parallel with the main handle 10. The arm 28 is long enough so that the handle 30 may be held within a room, while the handle 10 is outside the window, as shown in Fig.6. It will be seen that by moving the handle 30 up and down the handle 10 will be also moved, and the swab or sponge 26 will thus be effectively brought to bear upon the window.

For washing a ceiling the arm 28 is not used, the section 12 is secured at right angles to the section 11,as shown in Fig. 7, and the section 12 of the handle maybe moved back and forth parallel with the ceiling, so as to cause the sponge or swab 26 to rub upon the same. The device when constructed as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is used in substantially the same way, but the construction enables the upper section of the handle to be extended,and it also enables the jaws to be moved without moving the whole handle.

As here shown, the upper or outer section of the handle has a tube 31, the lower or inner end of which is solid,as shown at 32, this portion being pivoted to the section 11 in the manner already described. A tube 33 is held to slide in and protrude from the tube 31, this tube 33 being closed at its outer end. The tube 33 is held to the tube 31 by a thumb-screw 34, which is screwed into the tube and held to slide in a longitudinal slot 35 in the tube 31, the slot and screw thus limiting the movement of the tube 33, and by tightening the thumbscrew 34 the tube 33 may be held in a fixed position. The tube 33 is normally pressed outward by a spiral spring 36, which is held within it and within the tube 31.

The jaws, the slide, and the shank 16 are like the similar parts shown in Figs. 1 and 7,

but the shank 16 is secured to the outer end of the tube 33. A cord 37 is secured to the shank 16 and extends through suitable keepers 38 on the handle 10, and by pulling upon the cord the tube 33 may be forced into the tube 31 against the tension of the spring 36, and when the cord is released the spring will expel the tube and shank 16. It will thus be seen that by placing the device in the position shown in either Figs. 5 or 6, or, in fact, any position, the operator may alternately pull and release the cord, and the cord and spring will thus impart a reciprocating movement to the jaws, so that the latter may be moved without moving the main portion of the handle 10. This construction enables the sponge or swab 26 to be pushed into places which are hard to reach, and by operating the cord and spring such places may be easily and thoroughly cleaned.

It will be understood that the jaws may be made of material other than wire, but the jaws and the members 17 and 23 are preferably made of wire, so that the members referred to may have a slight spring action to facilitate the efficient working of the device.

In Figs. 10 and 1] I have shown a modified form of the window-washer, which is adjustable in all directions, and is adapted to be 0perated on the outside of a window without moving the handle vertically. In this case the window-frame is provided on opposite sides and near the sill with eyes 40, in which is secured a cross-rod 41, adapted to support the washer, as described below. The handle 10 is composed of two members jointed at 13 in the manner already described, and the upper member or section is provided with the telescoping parts 31 and 32, described above, and the lower section is also made of similar telescoping parts 42 and 43, so that the handle may be adjusted lengthwise to almost any extent. The cross-arm which is applied to the main handle and extends at right angles thereto, is in this case also made of telescoping parts 44 and 44, which are held together by a screw 45, working in a slot 46 of thepart 44 in the manner described when referring to the parts 31 and 32. The outer end of this cross-arm terminates in an eye47, which is held to slide on the rod 41, and which may be secured thereto by a thumb-screw 48, which extends through the eye and impinges on the rod. The outer end of the cross-arm terminates in a similar eye 47, which fits upon the lower end of the main handle 10, and this section of the handle has a longitudinal slot 47", adapted to receive a screw 47, which extends through the eye 47, and by this means the main handle and cross-arm are held together and adjusted. The jaws carried at the upper end of the handle are constructed exactly as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, and already described, with the exception that the jaws 48 and 49 are doublethat is to say, they extend in opposite directions from the shank 16-as shown in the drawings, so that the jaws may carry a wetswab at one end and a dry cloth at the other, and by this means the window may be washed and dried-that is to say, the swab is first applied and then the handle is turned around in the eye 47 and held by the screw 47. The jaws are operated by means of the cord 37, as described abovethat is, by pulling upon the cord the jaws will be moved downward and by releasing the cord the spring 22 will push them upward.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A window-washer comprising a telescop ing main handle made in hinged sections, fastening devices to fix the position of the sections, a fixed jaw carried at the upper end of the handle, a spring-pressed jaw held to press against the fixed jaw, and a supplemental longitudinally-adjustable handle secured to the main handle and extending at right angles thereto, substantially as described.

2. A window-washer comprisinga telescoping main handle having fastening devices to fix the position of the sliding or telescoping sections, a fixed jaw carried at the upper end of the main handle, a spring-pressed jaw arranged parallel with the fixed jaw, a telescoping supplemental handle having at one end an eye to receive the main handle, and means for fastening the supplemental handle to the main handle, substantially as described.

3. A window-washer comprising a telescoping main handle, fastening devices to fix the relative positions of the handle-sections, a fixed jaw carried at the upper end 'of the handle, a spring-pressed jaw held to press against the fixed jaw, a telescoping supplemental handle adapted to extend at an angle to the main handle, a fastening device to secure the supplemental handle to the main handle, a cross rod or support adapted to be secured to a window-frame, a fastening device to secure the supplemental handle to the cross-rod, and a cable or cord operatively connected with the movable jaw and adapted to move the same against the tension of its spring, substantially as described.

4 DAVID MENDELSON.

Witnesses:

WARREN B. HUTOHINSON, O. SEDGWICK. 

